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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Matt Stairs was rather unexpectedly thrown into the fourth spot in the batting order by Athletics
manager Art Howe. The move seemed to work out pretty well.
|  | | Matt Stairs made the most of his moment in the cleanup spot by smacking a first-inning grand slam. |
Stairs hit a grand slam in the first inning and the A's went on
to beat the San Diego Padres 5-4 Tuesday.
"Art and I had a talk before the game, we had a little joking
going on," Stairs said. "He said he must have felt sick or
something to put me in the four-hole. After the grand slam, I told
him it was a good choice."
Gil Heredia (8-3) gave up four runs -- three earned -- in seven-plus innings to win his third straight decision. The
right-hander struck out six and walked one.
"He had pretty good stuff, but I don't know if he was nasty or he threw balls in the dirt and I just swung at them," San Diego outfielder Al Martin said. "All I know is that not too many balls were hit hard."
Heredia got into trouble in the eighth inning when he walked Damian Jackson and gave up a single to Ruben Rivera. Left-hander
Rich Sauveur came in and allowed RBI singles to pinch-hitter Ed Sprague and Tony Gwynn to make it 5-4.
T.J. Mathews came on and got Phil Nevin to ground into a double
play and Bret Boone to ground out to end the threat. Jason
Isringhausen pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save.
"That was huge -- getting that double play," Howe said. "That
was the whole game to me."
Padres manager Bruce Bochy figured the Padres gave it their best
shot with Nevin, their cleanup man.
"A three-and-one count with Nevin, I'll take my chances," Bochy said. "He just happened to hit it on the ground. It didn't happen tonight, but Nevin's done damage for us."
Heredia's performance was enough to keep his ERA at 3.13, third-best in the American League.
After allowing an unearned run in the top of the first inning, the A's gave Heredia the lead in the bottom half when Rodrigo Lopez struggled with his control.
Lopez (0-2) walked Terrence Long, Randy Velarde and Jason Giambi
to open the game before Stairs hit his seventh career grand slam
over the right-field fence. The A's have six slams this season.
Lopez, looking for his first major league victory in five career starts, allowed four runs, six hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings.
The Padres narrowed the score to 4-2 when Dave Magadan scored on
Kory DeHaan's single in the second.
Terrence Long hit his seventh homer of the year, a solo shot, in
the sixth inning off Padres reliever Matt Whiteside to put the A's
up 5-2.
Stairs, who has 10 home runs this season, hit one deep to center
field in the fifth inning, but Rivera was able to hold on to a
diving catch that sent him sliding across the grass.
Rivera reached first on A's shortstop Miguel Tejada's error in
the first inning, went to third on Martin's single, and scored when
Gwynn hit into a double play.
Game notes
Oakland left-hander Mike Magnante is slated for a rehab
assignment at Triple-A Sacramento of the PCL on Thursday. If
everything goes well, he'll go again on Saturday, then rejoin the
A's Sunday or Monday. Magnante went on the disabled list May 27
with a strained left hamstring. He's eligible to come off the DL on
Sunday. ... A's outfielder Ben Grieve, who is 1-for-16 in interleague play, was given the day off. ... Padres left-hander Sterling Hitchcock underwent successful elbow surgery Tuesday and will be out 12-18 months. ... Pitcher Carlton Loewer will make one
more rehab start before returning to the Padres rotation. Loewer
suffered a left ankle fracture during an offseason hunting
accident. ... Padres OF Eric Owens will miss the rest of the series with a bruised right thumb. ... Padres 1B Ryan Klesko missed his
second game with a sore back. He's also expected to return on
Friday.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
San Diego Clubhouse
Oakland Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 4
Florida 3
NY Yankees 8
Montreal 1
Detroit 2
Pittsburgh 1
Baltimore 0
NY Mets 0
Chi. White Sox 17
Cincinnati 12
Tampa Bay 5
Philadelphia 3
Atlanta 7
Toronto 6
Minnesota 3
Houston 1
Cleveland 4
Milwaukee 2
St. Louis 5
Kansas City 4
Los Angeles 7
Texas 1
Anaheim 6
San Francisco 5
Oakland 5
San Diego 4
Seattle 4
Colorado 1
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